According to the well-informed "WorldTribune" website, the Russian general’s disclosure of Iran possessing nuke weapon was missed by journalists present at a briefing he gave two weeks ago during the Bush-Putin Summit in Moscow.

At the Summit, Russian President denied U.S. charges that Russian help to Iran to build a nuclear power reactor at Bushehr would help Iran secure weapons of mass destruction.

However, this was the first time that a Russian general says on the record that Iran has atomic bomb, which he categorises as "non-strategic".

But the "WorlTribune" observed that journalists at the briefing completely missed the importance of general Baluyevsky's assertion. "The Russian deputy chief of staff has just said on the record that Iran has nuclear weapons", highlighted WorldTribune.

General Baluyevsky also did not say where  the Iranian ayatollahs got the weapon, since the nuclear power station that is under construction in the Iranian port of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf with Russian assistance is not completed.

Washington and Tel-Aviv routinely accuses Russia with supplying Iran with nuclear and missile technologies know-how, but both Moscow and Tehran reject the charges, insisting that the Bushehr power station is of civilian nature and is being constructed under the constant and regular supervision of experts from the Vienna-based International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAAE).

While President George W. Bush has labeled Iran as an "evil state" and the US State Department has placed the Mullahrchy on the top of its list of regime that are the main supporter of terrorism, Tel-Aviv, for its part, say it considers the Iranian program for developing the Shahab-3 missile and continuing its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction as a serious menace to its existence and reiterates that it would do whaever it could for preventing the ayatollahs to get the nuclear weapons and the means to transport them. 

Like President Vladimir Putin, General Baluyevsky asserted that Iran and Russia have broad and concrete economic co-operation, which, he said, are "consistent" with the requirements applied to the non-proliferation of missile technologies and weapons of mass destruction. "This co-operation will continue", he assured.

Meanwhile in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry said it has expressed its concern to Iran over the test firing of Shahab-3 missiles, thus joining Israel and the United States, both its allies.

"It is being stated that the recent testing of the Shahab-3 missiles were related with the increase of its 1300 km-long-range, as well as its capability to destruct. Our sensitivity has been brought to the attention of the Iranian side. Efforts to increase the range of the missiles as well as the expansion of them, will not serve for the global security and stability", Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Huseyn Dirioz said Wednesday.

Ankara showed similar reactions by such public statements twice before, said the English-language Turkish Daily News, adding that the first reaction was shown on July 19, 2000 and the second was made on July 1, 2001 by Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Meanwhile, Iran's new ambassador Firooz Daulatabadi met with the undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Ugur Ziyal for a courtesy call. The missile issue was not raised, both Turkish and Iranian officials told the Turkish Daily News (TDN). ENDS IRAN HAS A BOMB 6602

Iran’s Looming Missile-cum-Nuclear Threat Sparks Fresh Tensions

DEBKAfile Special Military Report

August 8, 2004, 2:00 PM (GMT+02:00)

Saturday night, August 7, Iranian defense minister Admiral Ali Shamkhani came out with a disturbing announcement. He said Iran will soon test an improved version of its new ballistic Shehab-3 missile whose 1300-km range covers every part of Israel.

“These improvements do not only concern its range, but other specifications as well,” said the Iranian minister, adding “The Israelis are trying hard to improve the capacity of their missiles, and we are also trying to improve the Shehab-3 in a short time.” He offered no details on either upgrade, saying only: “We will improve the missile and when we test it, in the very short future, we will let you know.” If attacked, Iran would not leave its people without defense, he stressed.

Shamkhani also denied any Iranian cooperation with North Korea in missile technology – as suggested in Washington - stressing that the Islamic Republic does not need it.

In between emphasizing defense, Shamkhani issued a dire warning to Israel not to dare attack its nuclear sites.

DEBKAfile notes that the Shehab-3 missile’s first unveiling was accompanied by the pledge: “We will wipe Israel off the map,” a theme that recurs every Friday sermon in Iran’s mosques and its official pronouncements. In view of the Tehran hardline regime’s admitted strategic commitment to Israel’s destruction, Iran’s nuclear program combined with the development of its Shehab-3 is seen by policymakers in Jerusalem as the greatest threat to Israel’s existence since 1948.

Iran’s processing facilities for enriching the uranium necessary to building nuclear weapons are carefully dispersed in several subterranean sites. They are built in bunkers, often tens of meters deep, under densely populated urban centers, in the hope of deterring the Americans and the Israelis from attacking them.

Nonetheless, the Iranians do not feel safe. The defense minister believes Israel is developing a new type of depth bomb able to penetrate buried sites or wipe out electronics with electro-magnetic energy bursts. Tehran’s defense specialists are also keeping a watchful eye on the war tactics employed by the US military before, during and since the invasion of Iraq and against the Iraqi guerrilla war. They regard the Iraq precedent as a potential dress rehearsal for a possible US military operation against Iran.

Iranian military chiefs avidly read American publications on new weaponry - for instance, US Air Force research on a 9.5 tonne Massive Ordnance Air-burst Bomb capable of hitting mountain bunkers, whose warhead is as powerful as a small nuclear bomb. This weapon is designed to replace the biggest conventional US bomb, the 7.5 tonne Daisy Cutter, used at least twice in Afghanistan against mountain caves.

The Iranians are also worried by the airborne GBI-28 bunker busters the Americans used in the capture of Baghdad and in another airborne or cruise missile-carried BLU-114B bomb that is capable of knocking out the electricity grids of whole cities. There are reports of an “E-bomb” under development, whose microwave beams can massively damage electronic circuitry over a large area.

International media, furthermore, have reported at least one Israeli Dolphin submarine carrying cruise missiles with nuclear warheads to be lurking in waters just outside the Persian Gulf between the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. Israel’s Ofek 5 spy satellite is also able to track Iran’s nuclear activities.

Iran is concerned by these new weapons and devices because they are armed with deep underground penetration capabilities, or geared to crippling electric and electronic systems in urban areas. Iran’s subterranean nuclear plants are therefore potentially vulnerable – even in their subterranean lairs under cities. Iran’s regime and military leaders live in fear of waking up one morning to find that an Israeli or an American strike has wiped out their nuclear option just when it is closest to their grasp.

Although Tehran’s highly effective procrastination maneuvers have paid off so far in keeping diplomatic, military and economic hurdles at bay, defense minister Shamkhani finds it necessary to issue a warning threat to Israel. In the last ten days, these threats have intensified as a result of certain key developments inside Iran.

One, According to DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources, Iran’s radical spiritual ruler Ali Khamenei convened a high-powered secret conference Sunday, August 1, to underline a policy of nuclear brinkmanship in the face of the US-led international outcry against its nuclear weapons program. The decision to tough it out was endorsed by the assembled leadership group of former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, secretary of the national security council and liaison on nuclear matters with international institutions Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s former delegation to the IAEA Ali Akbar Salehi, head of foreign affairs commission of NSC Seyyed Hossein Moussavian and also defense minister Shakhmani.

A tough line against America automatically begets a doubly aggressive attitude towards Israel.

Two, Some of the new Shehab-3 missiles have been deployed secretly in central Iran – both as a shield for the nuclear plants against air, ground or naval attack and as a retaliatory option against attackers.

Knocking out this deployment would leave the industry susceptible to attack and nullify Iran’s deterrent.

The comment by Israel’s air defense commander that Israel’s Arrow II anti-missile missile system successfully tested last week against a Scud would not be effective against an Iranian multiple warhead Shehab 3 was taken with a pinch of salt by the ayatollahs who live in suspicion of trickery. But it does leave teasing questions about what Israel can do to prevent the deployment of the soon-to-be tested improved Shehab-3 batteries pointing in the direction of the Jewish state.

Sunday, August 8, the New York Times reported: American intelligence officials and outside nuclear experts have concluded that the Bush administration’s diplomatic efforts with European and Asian allies have barely slowed weapons programs in Iran and North Korea over the past year and both have made significant progress. Senior administration and intelligence officials, the paper reports, say they are seeking ways to step up unspecified covert actions.

The NYT report is sourced to Kennebunkport, the Bush family’s summer residence.

The Shakhmanei threat and this report come together with the distribution in southern Israel Sunday, August 8, of Lugol radiation antidote capsules to people living in the triangle formed by Israel’s nuclear center at Dimona, Arad and Eilat on the Red Sea. Home Command soldiers are handing these iodine dose packages – not to be opened until ordered – round homes in Dimona, Yeruham, Arara, Kseifa and Bedouin Negev settlements. Instructions in Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian and Amharic are attached. Distribution centers will also stock the antidote and extra doses made available for growing families.

Lugol is being handed out in case of an accidental leak from the Dimona reactor, say Israeli officials. They are talking less about the danger of nuclear fallout from a possible strike by an Iranian Shehab-3 missile.

In the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam Hussein did shoot a Scud missile against Dimona. It carried a warhead packed with cement for smashing through the reactor’s dome but missed its target and fell in the sand without causing damage

Shahab-3

TEHRAN: Iran has successfully tested a solid fuel motor for its medium-range Shahab-3 ballistic missile, a technological breakthrough in Iran's military industries, the defense minister said on Wednesday

Minister Ali Shamkhani did not say when Iran tested the motor, one of two engines he said were developed for the Shahab-3, a weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching Israel and US forces in the Middle East.

"A missile using liquid fuel is short-lived. You can use it for a limited time. Solid fuel makes the missile durable and dramatically increases its accuracy (in reaching targets),"Shamkhani told State-run television.

So far, Shahab-3 has reportedly been based on liquid-fuel technology. The Shahab-3 ballistic missile had been known as a single-stage device and military experts said the development of a second motor demonstrates a significant improvement in Iran's missile programme.

Former top Russian defence ministry official General Leonid Ivashov said he was not surprised at Iran's missile technological advancement.

LONDON, June 1 (IranMania) - Iran's Defense Minister Vice Admiral Ali Shamkhani said the Shabab-3 missile has been tested with solid fuel, stressing that it increases the missile’s range.

“Using solid fuel would be more durable and increase the range of the missile,“ Shamkhani told reporters on the sidelines of the First Seminar of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and C4I Command and Control at Malek Ashtar University in Tehran on Tuesday, IRNA reported.

The Defense Minister noted that launching a home-made satellite is in accordance with the decision adopted by the system. He stressed that it does not take a long time to launch a domestically-made satellite.

“The defense ministry is ready to launch a home-made satellite in less than a year,“ he said.